For as ferocious as he was onstage before a sold-out crowd of nearly 8,000 on Saturday night at the Resch Center, Five Finger Death Punch frontman Ivan Moody showed off his softer side backstage.

Moody donated 50 sleeping bags to Pillars, an Appleton organization that helps the homeless in the Fox Cities. The metal band’s management worked with local radio station Razor 94.7 104.7 to coordinate the donation, said Cutter, music director and afternoon air personality.

Moody made similar donations during 5FDP’s stops in Colorado Springs, Colorado, and Minneapolis earlier this month. The 38-year-old singer is from Denver but has family connections to Wisconsin, Cutter said.

“It’s really just Ivan wanting to give back as much as he can.”

Moody modeled a locker’s worth of Green Bay Packers gear during his band’s set, including a customized No. 5 jersey with his name across the back to open the show. He came out later in a No. 92 Reggie White jersey, a No. 12 Aaron Rodgers T-shirt and a No. 52 Clay Matthews jersey. Somewhere in between was a Cheesehead he threw out into the crowd.

Moody was also sporting a walking boot from a foot injury he sustained a couple of weeks ago, but if it slowed him down onstage, it was hard to tell.

“If Aaron Rodgers can play with a busted knee, I can pull this off,” he said.

To the delight of the crowd, he wasted no time hurling an expletive at the Minnesota Vikings on the night before the Packers-Vikings game, but he also said he likes his Denver Broncos, which brought some boos.

“(Expletive) you! It’s the AFC,” he fired back. “Get a hobby.”

5FDP bassist Chris Kael shared a photo on social media of himself at Lambeau Field on the day of the show. “Got a tour of the legendary #LambeauField today here in #GreenBay! Thanks for the Packers hospitality!” he wrote.

Breaking Benjamin guitarist Keith Wallen also shared a photo from the Lambeau visit that included Breaking Benjamin guitarist Jasen Rauch, Charlie Engen, who is filling in on drums for 5FDP on the fall tour, and Kael.

The concert sold out in a week when it went on sale this summer — a feat impressive enough that even Moody made mention of it from the stage. In a market where country and classic rock often dominate the marquee, the sellout was something of a surprise, at least to some.

Cutter wasn’t one of them.

5FDP headlined Rock USA in Oshkosh in 2016 and has always had a strong following in the area, he said. Co-headliner Breaking Benjamin has long been a core artist at the station. Throw in Bad Wolves, whose cover of “Zombie” by The Cranberries became a monster hit this year, and From Ashes to New, who lured the majority of the crowd into the Resch in time for the early 6 p.m. start, and you have a stacked bill.

It’s the second such rock/metal show to play the Resch in 2018. In January, Avenged Sevenfold, with Breaking Benjamin and Bullet for My Valentine, also drew well. That show was something of an experiment to gauge interest in the genre in the market, Cutter said.

“Then Five Finger obviously blew that out of the water,” he said.

Buy Photo

Five Finger Death Punch perform at the Resch Center on Saturday, November 24, 2018 in Ashwaubenon, Wis.(Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)

The momentum continues with a Shinedown show on March 9 at Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena, where Papa Roach and Asking Alexandria are the support acts. The Razor is promoting that as its annual Edgefest. Less than a thousand tickets remain, said Terry Charles, corporate communications manager for PMI Entertainment Group, which manages both arenas.

It’s not just rock that’s on a roll in Green Bay.

According to the Ticket Star website, Blake Shelton’s Friends & Heroes Tour on March 16 at the Resch only has single seats available, and a Trampled By Turtles date on Jan. 9 at the Meyer Theatre has no availability. Also getting close to sold-out territory: “Manitowoc Minute” comedian Charlie Berens on Jan. 19 at the Meyer.